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Book Reviews From Hayes to McKinley: National Party Politics, 1877-1896. By H. WAYNE
MORGAN. (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1969. x + 618p.; illustrations, bibliographical es- say, notes, and index. $12.95.) Professor Morgan is widely recognized as a leader in the revisionist interpretation of the Gilded Age which began to appear in the work of younger scholars about a decade ago. Author of several valuable books, par- ticularly William McKinley and His Amer- ica (1963)
and Unity and Culture (1971), and the editor of a series of fine articles, The Gilded Age; A Reappraisal (1963, 1970), Morgan is a very able political historian. His style is lively, his content is abreast of recent scholarship, and his historical anec- dotes give color and human interest to his narrative. From Hayes to McKinley is a solid book handsomely printed, richly illustrated, and well documented. The index, however, is too brief for such a detailed history. Mor- gan's best writing is found in the many bio- graphical vignettes scattered throughout his twelve chapters. Generally speaking he is more sympathetic to Republicans than Dem- ocrats. Hayes and Garfield, and even Ar- thur, gain stature in his treatment, while Grover Cleveland loses some of the aura that progressive historians have traditionally accorded to the only Democratic president of the period. The difficulty faced today by any one scholar bold enough to write a comprehen- sive history covering more than a single dec- ade is illustrated by the small factual errors which inevitably creep in from older sec- ondary works despite an author's dedicated research and careful readings of his manu- script by colleagues and editors. The Ruth- erford B. Hayes Library is correctly identi- fied in Morgan's preface but improperly called by its former name, the Hayes Me- morial Library, in the chapter notes. Hayes was not "just under six feet" tall; he was |
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five feet eight inches in height. Full-length pictures showing the President wearing a Prince Albert coat probably account for this commonly mistaken impression of his ap- pearance. Hayes practiced law primarily in Cincinnati, not Fremont. Also, he did not acquire the Spiegel Grove estate at Fremont until 1874. He was wounded in the arm, not leg and arm as Morgan states, at the battle of South Mountain. Some omis- sions in the Hayes story are conspicuous. Hayes' record in Congress and as governor merit more attention. The role of Mrs. Hayes as first lady is overlooked. Congres- sional leadership in the Hayes era is not dis- cussed. Except for such details, readers will find an excellent reappraisal of Hayes and Garfield in this book. Morgan, for example, handles the question of the abandonment of the Negro by the Republicans very well. Hayes' great personal tragedy was that he became unjustly identified with this sad event when he had, in fact, a long public record of opposition to racial injustice. Morgan portrays the intricate workings of Gilded Age party politics, especially convention and campaign maneuvers, with great skill. Like many other writers, how- ever, he misses a major point in his discus- sion of the 1884 Republican convention which nominated James G. Blaine in lieu of President Arthur. The clue to Arthur's failure to win the nomination as well as the key to his surprisingly successful presidency following the death of Garfield is that he was informed by his physicians shortly after he entered the White House that he was a dying man. This secret was shared with only a few political associates at the time, and it has eluded historians until very recently. The volume is exceptionally well illus- trated with seventy-eight photographs and cartoons of the period. With the almost simultaneous publication of John Garraty's The New Commonwealth, 1877-1890, we now have two outstanding reinterpretations of an often maligned era. What is needed |
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next is a good cultural survey of the age. Professor Morgan and others are already at work to fill the void. KENNETH E. DAVISON Heidelberg College The Delaware Indians: A History. By C. A. WESLAGER. (New
Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1972. xix + 546p.; illustrations, appendices, and index. $17.50.) In 1881 when Helen Hunt Jackson was writing A Century of Dishonor, her famous attempt to reform Indian policy, she chose the Delaware Indians as a prime example of what had been wrong with white Indian policy. Now, C. A. Weslager has produced a much larger and more balanced look at the history of the same tribe, showing, in general terms at least, that much of Mrs. Jackson's conclusion was valid. The story told is a familiar one. Living along the Delaware River in present Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, the Delawares early came into contact with the whites; first the Dutch, then the Swedes, and finally the English. Despite the fact that the tribe was generally hospitable, non-violent, and small in number, the whites soon took ad- vantage of Indian friendship to push their way onto all of the Delaware lands. Such activities eventually led to friction which could only be solved by moving the tribe west. Thus began the odyssey of the Dela- wares as they were pushed across the coun- try by the onslaught of white civilization. From Pennsylvania, they were relocated first in Ohio, then Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, and finally Oklahoma, where many of the descendents reside today. By following the migrations of the Delaware the author is able to trace the main thrusts of American Indian policy from colonial times to the present. The Delaware Indians is a strong book in many respects. In keeping with recent first-rate tribal histories, the author has blended anthropological with historical ma- terials. The result is a very thorough, well |
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documented, and knowledgeable study of this tribe. In contrast to some works, there is no sentimental glorification of the Indians or blanket condemnation of whites. Wes- lager has successfully presented both sides of the picture and pointed out villains wher- ever they exist. As usual most of the villains turn out to be white, but the Delawares are shown to be to blame for some of the mis- fortunes that befell them. Certain myths, like the humanity of Quaker Indian policy, are discarded. William Penn is treated rather favorably, but his sons are seen as rascals who were interested only in land, wealth, and speculation. Consequently, the Quaker government in the years after 1718 engaged in considerable fraud and misdealing, in- cluding the famous Walking Purchase of 1737. The account of the many removals is presented by a fine discussion of the emotional and psychological difficulties con- fronted by the Native Americans as they attempted to maintain their Indianism in spite of the conflicting pressures of mis- sionaries, frontiersmen, and Federal Gov- ernment. By tracing the slow loss of cultural traditions, we are able to clearly see many of the identity problems facing the Indians today. Despite a good overall approach, the book has some annoying faults. Most glar- ing is certainly the fact that the book is overly detailed. It often has more informa- tion than is useful and in some respects is more of a genealogy than a history. The author's familiarity with the tribe has caused him to list the name of practically every member, all variations in spelling and exact dates of death when available. In addition to over-familiarity with the tribe, Weslager uses an antiquarian approach in dealing with geography, particularly in regard to the Delaware Valley. Place names are discussed in boring and confusing detail. There are also many gaps in his accounts of the gen- eral outlines of Indian policy and frontier expansion which might have been rectified by a thorough coverage of secondary ma- terial. A final weakness is the omission of much of the history of the tribe in the twentieth century. The story basically ends with settlement in Oklahoma, although the first chapter does weakly mention some as- |
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230 OHIO HISTORY |
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pects of present life and the last chapter covers the suits brought before the Indian Claims Commission. ROBERT A. TRENNERT Temple University "Smoked Yankees" and the Struggle for Empire: Letters from Negro Soldiers, 1898- 1902. [Compiled
by] WILLARD B. GATE- WOOD, JR. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1971. x + 328p.; illustrations,
bib- liography, and index. $9.50.) Some experiences of black Americans in the Spanish-American War are vividly re- vealed in this carefully edited collection of 114 letters to black newspapers. As the introduction points out and the let- ters themselves illustrate, ambivalence char- acterized American blacks' response to the Spanish-American War. Many sympathized with Cubans and Filipinos oppressed by Spain, and experience with racism at home generated doubts about the direction of American imperialism. Nonetheless, large numbers sought by service abroad in the four all-black units of the regular Army or in the various volunteer regiments raised to, as one soldier put it, "show to the world that true patriotism is in the minds of the sons of Ham" (p. 57). Expectations that proof of loyalty would win respect, how- ever, went unfulfilled, and many black sol- diers experienced abuse, instead of praise, both from civilians and from military au- thorities who were convinced that blacks made good soldiers only if led by whites. "It seems as if God has forgotten us," one soldier lamented (p. 84). "I know," an Ohio Colonel added, "our regiment is on trial and our race also" (pp. 188-189). |
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Amidst such feelings, harassments and han- dicaps, black soldiers served with distinction in Cuba and the Philippines. In both coun- tries, but particularly in the latter, many found a common bond of color with the na- tives which deepened their initial misgivings about imperialism. Most of the black units which served are represented, and Gatewood states that the letters selected provide a "remarkably com- plete record of the black man's role in America's struggle for Empire at the turn of the century" (p. ix). This is only partially true. One wonders, for example, whether the young Negro lawyer (p. 111) and the young instructor at Raleigh's Shaw Univer- sity (p. 106) expressed the views of the sharecroppers and unskilled laborers who also served. Moreover, although officers, non-coms, and privates are included, letters from four officers comprise nearly a third of the collection. These highly literate men may have written from the "perspective of dispossessed Americans" (p. 18), but to get at the opinions and experiences of those who did not correspond with journals, other sources--such as courts-martial transcripts --will also have to be tapped. Despite this qualification, "Smoked Yan- kees" is
a useful addition to the growing literature on the black soldier. Gatewood's interpretive comments are an excellent in- troduction to the subject and the now readily accessible letters are important be- cause, as Gatewood points out, the white press regularly neglected the achievements and ignored the perspectives of black soldiers. The numerous references to what really happened on San Juan Hill, for in- stance, provide a viewpoint decidedly dif- ferent from that commonly accepted today. LORIN LEE CARY University of Toledo |